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LONDON (AFP): An Indian teacher was on Thursday (December 3) named the winner of a million dollar award for his work in transforming the lives of girls in a rural village.
Ranjitsinh Disale was announced as the winner of the 2020 Global Teacher Prize in a virtual ceremony broadcast from the Natural History Museum in London and chose to split half of his winnings with his fellow finalists.
He was selected from 12,000 nominations from more than 140 countries around the world.
Their decision means that US $ 55,000 will go to each of the other nine finalists from countries such as Malaysia, Italy, Nigeria and South Korea.
Disale is the sixth winner of the award, sponsored by the United Nations educational and cultural agency, UNESCO.
He said that the global coronavirus pandemic had demonstrated the importance of education for communities.
“In this difficult time, teachers are doing everything they can to make sure all students have access to their birthright to a good education,” he said.
Disale added that all the teachers were “the true creators of change that are changing the lives of their students” and it was in this spirit that he said he was sharing his profits.
The teacher came to Zilla Parishad Primary School in a small town near Solapur, in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, in 2009.
In the intervening years, it transformed school attendance among the surrounding tribal community from 2% to 100%.
Stefania Giannini, UNESCO’s deputy director-general for education, said teachers like Disale would build “more peaceful and just societies.”
“Teachers like Ranjitsinh will eliminate inequalities and boost economic growth,” he added.
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